strolling down the memory lane of wing lee street

Wing Lee Street, a street name that was scribbled on my to-visit-list for over a year now. Only recently I have made a brief trip there. The houses here are tong lau style. Tong lau is tenement buildings built in the late  19th century to the 1960s in Hong Kong, South china and Taiwan. It was designed for both residential and commercial uses.

Over the years the houses became run down and there was a plan to demolish and redevelop them. However, the plan was scrapped thanks to the movie, Echoes of the Rainbow. The movie was filmed at this street and won the Crystal Bear for the Best Film in the Children's Jury "Generation Kplus" category at the 2010 Berlin Film Festival.Currently there are couple of blocks have been renovated and there is an information office.

 

Couple of run down blocks

How to get to Wing Lee Street? Well, take the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator to Caine Road. Exit when you see the sign 'Caine Road' and turn right. Walk along this road until you see a road sign; Shing Wong Street. Walk down the stairs and on the way, you will see a couple of cafes. To your left is Wing Lee Street.

After visiting Wing Lee Street, you can visit Select 18; which is located on Bridges Street.Just take left when leaving Wing Lee Street. Walk down the stairs until you reach a road. Turn left and walk for few minutes. The shop is on your left.

outfit: leather jacket, vintage blouse, thrifted belt, boyfriend jeans, boots, vintage bag

As for my outfit of the day, I have mixed modern or new with vintage. I used to pair the floral pussy bow vintage blouse with a pair of slacks for work. So, I thought to myself, why not pairing it with a pair of jeans... So, that was how my outfit was put together.

How was your weekend so far? Still recovering from New Year's party? Recharging for work on coming Monday? No matter what you do, have a good one!

Till my next post, stay chic!

References:

http://www.timeout.com.hk/big-smog/features/32439/streetwise-wing-lee-street.html

http://bluebalu.com/2013/12/01/wing-lee-street/http://bluebalu.com/2013/12/01/wing-lee-street/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Lee_Street

hk walk: central and western district

It was sunny with some interval pf rains but this did not stop me from exploring Central and Western District of HK island last Saturday. I have been waiting for the right day with the right weather to go for recommended HK walks. Autumn changed to Winter, Winter to Spring and now early Summer... "it is time." I said to myself. And then I found myself set off to HK island...

This is the map that I used for the walk as my guide.

Take Island line MTR and alight at Sheung Wan station. Exit at Exit B, turn right and walk about three minutes. This is Western Market which houses some restaurants, fabric stores and stores selling art. The Western Market is open daily from 10 am to midnight.

Then walk along Morrison Street, turn left into Wing Lok Street.At this point, to be honest, I did not really follow the map.This street is lined with specialty shops selling ginseng and bird's nest.

 

As I walked further down this street, I came across with SASA outlet. A great short stop for those who want to grab some bargain of beauty and personal care products.

Somehow I made my way through to Ladder Street and hit Hollywood Street. Few metres ahead of me is the Man Mo Temple. The temple opens daily from 8 am to 6 pm.

As I walked along Hollywood Street until a junction, Aberdeen Street, I wanted to checked out Bang Bang! 70 but it was closed. Maybe next time? But I was lucky as Vintage HK was opened and I had my little walk distraction here. Although I did not get anything, it was a good distraction or stop.

Instead of checking out Mid-levels Escalator, I walked straight ahead and came across former central police station under restoration or upgrading work. Here is a photo of the other buildings in the same compound.

Next, I walked to Lower Albert Road past the Fringe Club. Don't you think it is an unique looking building?

I walked and followed signs to Duddle Street. These are the only gas lamps in Hong Kong and are turned on daily at 6pm.

Final stop is the Old Supreme Court Building which is at Des Voeux Road Central. 

This walk took about one and a half to two hours to complete. For this walk, you can add two vintage stores into your stops. A good mix of walk and window shopping, don't you think? Hope this gives an idea what to explore in HK. Stay tuned for more HK walks. 

Ipoh Heritage Trail 1

Ipoh is the capital of Perak and it is the fourth largest city in Malaysia. Ipoh developed into one of Malaysia's main cities around the turn of the 19th century due to the booming tin mining industry.

During my recent trip back to Ipoh, I had the opportunity to go on Ipoh heritage trails. This post will focus on heritage trail 1. Here is the map which I obtained from the tourism office.

If you are planning to do the trail in the morning, I would suggest to have breakfast at any kopitiam in Panglima Street and leave your vehicle here as well. Instead of following the sequence on the map, I focused on the following streets: Panglima Street, Panglima Lane, Belfield Street, Post Office Road, Station Road and Brewster Road. Interesting buildings in these areas...

Concubine Lane (24)

Dramatists' Hostel - built in 1920s (21)

Chung Thye Phin Building - built in 1907 (12)

S.P.H. De Silva Building - built at the turn of last century (11)

Mikasa Photo Shop (20)

Jan Sahib's Office (19)

The Chartered Bank (14)

Straits Trading Building (OCBC) - built in 1907 (13)

Mercantile Bank - built in 1931 (15)

Birch Memorial (18)

Perak Hydro Building (17)

Residence & Law Office of the Seenivasagam Brothers (16)

Hongkong and Shanghai Bank - built in 1931 (10)

FMS Bar & Restaurant (9)

After exploring this part of the town, I walked back to Panglima Street to explore two building prior to driving to railway station.

Perak Ku Kong Chow Association - built in 1928 (22)

Han Chin Pet Soo (23)

This is the bit that one may consider driving instead of walking. Perhaps the weather was a bit hot at that time, thus I did not walk.

Railway station - built from 1914 to 1917 (1)

Town Hall and Post Office - built from 1914 to 1916 (3)

High Court - built from 1926 to 1928 (4)

Church of St. John the Divine - built in 1912 (6)

St. Michael's Institution (7)

Royal Ipoh Club (5)

Town Padang Mosque - built in 1908 (8)

It was a wonderful journey and all this while, I did not know the history of these buildings which I have passed by or seen some of the buildings during my teens in Ipoh. But now, after went on the trail, I have learnt a bit of these beautiful old buildings. Hope you have enjoyed this post as much as I have enjoyed walking and taking photos of these lovely old building.

Note:
At the time of walking the trail, war memorial (2) was not available to public to due some construction work.

a glimpse of ipoh, city that tin build

Ipoh, the capital city of Perak, was founded in the 1890s. At one time, it was the richest mining region of the world. During this period, many Chinese came to Ipoh to work in tin mining. In the 1950s, Ipoh was well-known as a hedonistic hotspot for entertainment and night life (cabarets, night clubs and theatre halls). the price of tin went downhill in the 1970s and unfortunately it affected the city. Attempts have been taken to revitalize the city and slowly the city is growing and developing again.

During my visit last weekend, I had a bit of walking around the Old Town bit of Ipoh. Took some photos of the surroundings of Jalan Bandar Timah (Tin City Road)...

These are just some old buildings. The studio photo is not ordinary studio with fancy entrance and display. Maybe it has been established since the 1960s? Perhaps I should take more photos of old buildings in Ipoh and take on a heritage trail. Whilst doing a bit research old Ipoh town, I came across these interesting websites; Ipohworld's World and a post on Ipoh heritage trail on ipohnkinta.blogspot.com.

What I like about old buildings besides its architecture is the beauty of paint-peeling walls - that old and abandon feel. And I also like bicycles as my subject in my photos. Don't know why, but I just love bicycle or bicycles against a wall, chained to a post or just simply placed under a tree and etc.

And anything to do with a cat too!

It is good to have a day off, tomorrow, in the middle of the week. For those who will be off for work tomorrow, have a great day and for those who will be working, happy working!

References:
http://www.world66.com/asia/southeastasia/malaysia/ipoh/history
http://www.ipohrun.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=103&Itemid=256